Must win? Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley didn't go there, but he did admit his team needed three points in their game against Chicago Friday afternoon.

The Thorns unhappily came away with one point.

The Thorns blew a two-goal lead late in the game and walked off the field with an angst-filled 2-2 draw against the Red Stars in front of an Independence Day crowd of 13,084 at Providence Park.

Defensive lapses late in the game prevented the Thorns (6-6-3, 21 points) from jumping into a tie for third place in the league, with the top-four teams earning a playoff berth. The Thorns ended their two-game losing streak, but extended their winless streak to three games.

The Thorns talked as if they had lost the game, not finished in a draw.

"We fought hard, but not hard enough. All of us feel like we let them back in the game and that's unacceptable," said defender Sarah Huffman, who scored her first goal of the season. "It doesn't feel like a tie."

The draw increases the pressure on the Thorns to get results in the final nine games of the regular season. With five of those nine games on the road, the Thorns must come up with some strong performances if they want to get the chance to repeat as league champions. Right now, they sitting on a very big playoff bubble.

The Thorns shouldn't be talking about a draw against Chicago (6-6-3, 21 points) after taking a lead in the game. Riley has talked constantly about how the Thorns were unbeaten in six games when they scored the first goal.

That previously unbeaten record now has a blemish and the Thorns will travel to play at Chicago in the second game of the home-and-home series Wednesday.

"The game should've been over and done with with the chances we had in the first half," Riley said. "Chances come and chances go. Eventually you'll pay the price. We seem to pay the price every time."

Riley made a big change in his starting 11 for the game. The surprise wasn't the insertion of midfielder Tobin Heath, who joined the Thorns this week after playing in France during the first half of the season. The surprise was Jessica McDonald starting at forward in place of Christine Sinclair, who was on the bench.

Riley said he wanted to give Sinclair a bit of a rest. The forward has been playing soccer non-stop since the late last year.

"Sinc was a little tired," Riley said. "With six games in the next (three) weeks, there's a lot of games coming up."

Riley's move worked. McDonald scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 24th minute and Huffman scored 15 minutes later to give the Thorns a 2-0 lead. The Thorns were in a position to win their fourth home game in eight tries.

The Thorns continued to pressure Chicago, trying to get that third goal. They weren't able to find number three, but felt confident going into the locker room at halftime.

"The first half was some great football. We switched the point of attack really well. We probably should've come in three, four-nil at halftime," Riley said. "Seems to be part of the reason we're in the position we're in. We just don't seem to be able to put the game away."

The theme coming out for the second half was to score another goal, which Riley believed would ice the game.

"The third goal is just such a crucial thing," Riley said. "We said at halftime, 'Let's get the third goal and finish the game.' "

The Thorns had some good chances, such as defender Stephanie Catley's cross being just a little too long for an onruhsing McDonald inside the box in the 48th minute. A header by McDonald sent the ball over the net in the 58th minute.

Once the Thorns didn't score that third goal by midway in the second half, they seem to relax a little bit, perhaps thinking they'll get the three points.

"Our tempo definitely changed in the first half in comparison to the second half," McDonald said. "We were more lackadaisical."

Chicago forward Christen Press got behind the Thorns back line and scored in the 76th minute. Six minutes later, Press scored on a pretty shot from outside the box for the equalizer.